With reference to "Garbage is about recycling" by Sunita Narain (May 23), the points made by the author are very meaningful, but most of the approaches in garbage management are limited to the environmental sciences.
It is interesting to note that Panaji and some towns in Kerala have initiated a few steps in this regard. A more critical factor would be the application of management sciences in the area of garbage management.
The collection and transportation of garbage is exactly the reverse of industrial supply chain management, with a zero stocking policy. So, it is much simpler and major savings can be achieved in this regard. A city like Chennai spends about Rs 1,800 per tonne for collection and transportation of garbage in the region of 8,000 tonnes per day.
As the country is grappling with millions of tonnes of waste annually, the government of India needs to seriously look into the issues of performance and cost management.
Sanjeevi V, Chennai
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It is interesting to note that Panaji and some towns in Kerala have initiated a few steps in this regard. A more critical factor would be the application of management sciences in the area of garbage management.
The collection and transportation of garbage is exactly the reverse of industrial supply chain management, with a zero stocking policy. So, it is much simpler and major savings can be achieved in this regard. A city like Chennai spends about Rs 1,800 per tonne for collection and transportation of garbage in the region of 8,000 tonnes per day.
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This constitutes about 80 per cent of the total garbage handling costs. By applying operational research and routing techniques, a bulk of the expenditure could be reduced. The system needs improved performance monitoring systems, instead of only complaints redress mechanisms.
As the country is grappling with millions of tonnes of waste annually, the government of India needs to seriously look into the issues of performance and cost management.
Sanjeevi V, Chennai
Letters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:
The Editor, Business Standard
Nehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
New Delhi 110 002
Fax: (011) 23720201 · E-mail: letters@bsmail.in
All letters must have a postal address and telephone number